


May Flowers Always Come Back

by MadiLadi



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, F/M, Flowers, Fluff in Next Chapter, Heavy Angst, Reader dies, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29885007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadiLadi/pseuds/MadiLadi
Summary: This oneshot takes place while Eren is still laying low in Marley while he's at the hospital. While staying there, against his better judgement he finds himself getting close to another patient. Try as he might to not involve her in his life, Eren is unable to keep himself from interacting with her; she reminds him of memories of simpler times and the family and friends he left behind. However, this costs her her life.Don't read if you don't wanna see depressing Eren angst :)))Word Count: 2951
Relationships: Eren Yeager/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	1. Love Doesn't Last

**Author's Note:**

> I listened to I Bet on Losing Dogs, AEA Session while I was writing this. Do with that information what you will. Listen to the song while reading if you'd like :)
> 
> Some fluff to heal your soul will be in the next chapter :)

Eren’s eyes study you lazily as the two of you aimlessly walk around the hospital campus, content to silently observe you as you walk one or two steps ahead of him. Truth is, Eren’s walk is aimless; _you,_ however, are on a mission. For reasons Eren isn’t entirely sure of, when you both pass by a little patch of wildflowers every once in a while, you will occasionally stop in your tracks, study the flowers, and then choose one to pluck from its home in the dirt. You don’t choose just any flower, and you don’t pick one from every patch that you come across, seemingly having your own process for how you decide which flowers to take. What this process includes is a mystery to everyone but you. He’s thought about asking about why you pick certain flowers, but he doesn’t really want to bring unwanted attention to a process that he enjoys watching; he can see the gears turning in your mind every time you pause in front of some flowers as you make up your mind, and something inside of him worries that if he asks about it, you’ll stop doing it. You two could walk around the hospital picking flowers for hours and he wouldn’t mind a bit.

Eren quickly learned that you’re his favorite way to pass the time in his dull life inside of the hospital. Dull is a pretty accurate word to describe everything in the facility, actually. Dull colors, dull food, dull skies, dull people. Everything within the property seemed to be dull and lifeless, but not you, never you. You were practically the only person there with any light behind your eyes. Maybe that’s one of the reasons that Eren enjoys your company so much, seeing as the light has long since left his tired features. Maybe your light will manage to rub off on him after enough time. He doesn’t know if that’s even possible, but he feels like it’s been working, if only just a little. 

You pause once again to examine a small group of flowers at your feet, causing Eren to almost walk into you as he comes back to his senses. A small smile creeps across his face as he watches you decide whether or not one of the flowers is right for the little bouquet clutched in your hands. The flowers that you’re judging are small and white with a light yellow center. They certainly look pretty enough to make the cut, but heaven knows that prettiness isn’t a huge deciding factor in the flowers you pick; anyone who looks at your bouquet can see that you’re not entirely concerned with creating the most visually pleasing assortment. You’ve even managed to include a couple of weeds that vaguely resemble flowers. Some of your flowers are slightly wilted while others aren’t even in full bloom yet, but they get plucked by you all the same. You just want ones that meet your fancy and make you happy. 

Your eyes carefully scan each flower as your features twist into that familiar thinking face. Eren notices the soft breeze blowing some of your stray hairs in front of your eyes, but you don’t seem to notice, or you just don’t care. The dark hue of your hair reminds him of names he hasn’t thought about in weeks, names of people who he left behind, for better or for worse. That’s another reason why he enjoys your company so much; you remind him of his family, of his home. Maybe keeping you by his side will help keep his memories close to him. 

You suddenly stand up, shaking your head slightly in disapproval. He realizes you must not have liked any of those flowers. He raises an eyebrow quizzically as your head moves around on a swivel, probably looking for “better” flowers. 

“I thought you’d pick one of those for sure.”

Your lips curl up into a soft grin at the sound of Eren’s voice, almost surprised to hear him speak after such a long period of silence between you both. Not that you mind the silence at all, in fact most times you prefer it. There are some people that you worry about polite conversation with, and then there’s people that you just want to enjoy being around, not particularly caring about what you happen to be doing in the time spent together. Eren definitely falls into the second category, and Eren seems to feel the same way. He isn’t the most chatty person in the world, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. The comfortable silences that you share together are the moments you cherish the most. Sometimes things can be said easily enough without any words at all.

“Those weren’t quite right.”

Of course, how silly of him. 

Before Eren can even think about responding (though he probably wouldn’t have anyway), you’re suddenly bent down again, this time crouching down right in front of him. If Eren didn’t know you as well as he did, he would have been surprised, but he merely shoots you a curious look from above you instead. Maybe you dropped one of your flowers? 

Now clutching your bouquet with only one hand, your other hand reaches out and nudges one of Eren’s shoes with your knuckles, creating a soft knocking noise against the leathery surface. 

“Move your big foot, you oaf.” 

Your insult draws out a soft chuckle from Eren as he does what you ask of him, taking a step back and allowing you better access to whatever it is you’re so focused on. As soon as his foot is out of the way, you’re investigating where he was standing with determination. Eren’s eyes follow yours, now curious to see what caught your interest so quickly; upon further inspection, he realizes that there’s a single, small, delicate looking yellow flower where his foot used to be. He must have stepped on it without noticing. 

Your fingers reach out to it, touching it with the most gentleness he’s seen from anyone in a very long time, the tips of your fingers barely moving the petals. The flower which was most likely previously perky and lively is now semi wilted, a few petals hanging on to the stem through luck alone due to being stepped on. 

Eren takes his gaze from the sad looking flower in the dirt to you, once again watching the gears turning in your mind. Are you really considering picking it? He could bend down right now and find you a better flower with no trouble whatsoever, namely one that isn’t nearly dead. However, he knows better than to question you or your flower picking process. He probably wouldn’t understand it even if you explained it. Instead, he patiently waits in silence as you thoughtfully assess the flower, giving careful thought to whether or not you want it. 

After a long couple of silent seconds, your smile returns to your face as your fingers grab the stem of the droopy flower, plucking it from its place in the dirt without a second thought. Eren can’t help but smile at your strange decision. That isn’t exactly the flower that he would have picked, but the gleeful look on your face makes it clear that you think it’s the perfect flower. How you get so much joy from a broken, wilted little flower is beyond his understanding. Although, maybe it’s a good thing that you seem to enjoy the company of broken, wilted things. Eren’s days would be a lot more dull if you didn’t.

You finally make your way to your feet, looking quite satisfied with yourself. You hold out the flower for Eren to examine knowing that he’s curious about your decision just from the look in his eyes. His eyes move from yours to the sad little flower, admiring the soft color despite the lack of vibrancy. The flower looks to be something like a  **zinnea** , though he can’t really be sure. The stem of the flower can no longer hold up the petals, so you’ve instead resorted to carrying it by the top, your fingers gently wrapped around it to prevent any further damage. Seeing how much you care for the flower, Eren feels somewhat bad for not noticing it and stepping on something you’re getting so much joy from. The bright smile on your face wavers slightly as a single petal falls from the flower and begins drifting downward back towards the dirt where it came from. 

Without a second thought, Eren’s hand quickly reaches out to the flower, allowing the fallen petal to land on his open palm. He frowns slightly at the sight of the single petal lying on his skin.

“I’m sorry. I wish I had seen it.”

His soft, apologetic words bring the fallen smile back to your face as you shake your head once again, deciding to take a moment to choose your next words. You tuck the small flower into the bouquet with the rest of the flowers, allowing the little bunch to support the wilted flower, now in the very center of the assortment. No more petals should fall from the flower as long as it has the others to give it support. You notice that Eren’s still staring at the little petal in his grasp as you open your mouth to speak, a sudden forlorn look taking over his expression.

“...I think it’s still good. It isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I love it all the same.”

Eren’s eyes are finally torn away from the broken petal in his grasp as he realizes that you’re offering the flowers you’ve meticulously been collecting to him. Your bouquet, the weeds, buds, wilting flowers and all, now his. He blinks a couple of times, almost not knowing how to react.

Without uttering a word, you gently tuck the bunch of flowers into his empty hand, wrapping his fingers around the stems as his senses seemingly return to him, fingers curling around the stems by himself. You smile at this, looking into his eye for a brief moment before turning around, resuming the walk that you had interrupted ages ago. 

It takes Eren a moment to move his feet, but once he does, it’s as if neither of you had stopped in the first place. This time however, you walk by Eren’s side instead of ahead of him, no longer having the desire to search for any more flowers. The comfortable silence is almost resumed before you open your mouth to speak for the last time.

“Besides, it reminds me of you.”

Eren’s hand unconsciously clutches the flowers a little more protectively at your words, not letting them go for the rest of the evening. The heat and oils from his hand only cause the flowers to droop even further, but he doesn’t mind. They aren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but he loves them all the same. He can’t help but occasionally glance down at that wilting yellow flower in the center of the bouquet you made for him, not knowing how to feel about that one in particular. He doesn’t quite see how it belongs with the other prettier flowers, but you do, in fact it’s your favorite one, and that’s all that matters. 

Eren absentmindedly tucks the yellow flower petal still in his hand into the pocket of his trousers, not wanting to merely drop it onto the dirt for some reason. Maybe because it’s a piece of something that’s important to you, making it important to him too. Whatever the reason may be, he’s content with allowing the petal to live in his pocket for the time being.

\---------------------------

The sound of gunfire and screams echoes in Eren’s ears as his surroundings fade from his awareness, no longer able to focus on what he was doing, or who he was fighting. His eyes have suddenly glazed over in a new and abrupt sort of absence. The Jaw Titan is still held firm inside of his iron grip, hanging near lifelessly from Eren’s fingers, inches from certain death, and yet Eren is unable to finish him off. The battle has practically paused with his hesitation as he stares downward into a pile of rubble beneath him, one that he surely created. All of the rocks and rubble in the area were created by Eren, or more accurately destroyed by him. Countless innocent lives must be buried far beneath the wreckage, and now Eren thinks he’s spotted one more. 

One that he deeply cared for.

Eren’s comrades grow confused and worried as he tosses the Jaw Titan aside, no longer caring about ending its life at the moment. The loud crash that its body makes as it tumbles to a stop in the dirt barely registers in Eren’s mind, his only concern being investigating this pile of rubble that has captured his attention.

The few people still alive and watching Eren as he reaches down to the ground might insist that his giant, blood soaked hands were trembling slightly as they sift through the debris left by his own hands. It doesn’t take him long to completely uncover the lifeless body of someone who he called his friend. Gently taking the body into his monstrous hands, he can clearly identify the previously soft and gentle features of her face, or what isn’t obscured by all of the blood, which has long since stopped flowing from the large crack in her face. A giant gash ranging all the way from her temple to the top of her scalp obscures most of her features, but Eren is sure. He wishes that he wasn’t.

The expression that rests on her face still is the last straw that breaks his heart into a million tiny pieces; a look of deep fear and pain is now the last emotion to be seen on her face, and is the last thing that she felt before her merciless death, abruptly stealing her from this world, and from Eren. As if it were any consolation, it looks like she died instantly as the rubble entombed her. It disgusts Eren that her, his friend, having a swift and semi painless death is remotely a good thing. 

How did things come to this? Now so far gone that he caused his own friend’s death in his rampage. Is he even human anymore? Is he now somehow more titan than human? With the sheer number of humans that he’s killed, the blood on his hands could easily rival that of any titan he’s killed in the past or any he’ll see in the future. It truly feels like he’s become more of a monster than a titan ever could be. 

His focus is brought back down to the once joyful soul in his palm, long since crushed by his own hand, and suddenly the reality of what he’s done truly occurs to him. The grief, the guilt, the pain, the sadness, and the anger all pour down his face in large streams, leaving wet trails falling down his face. He barely even notices the tears as they fall, choosing to ignore them just like he’s ignoring the rest of his surroundings, all except for the corpse clutched in his hand. The sensation of such complex emotions burns into his very soul, similarly to the way that he can feel the now dry and wilted flower petal that still remains in his pocket from that day.

Her limp limbs dangle off of the edge of his massive hand, the color quickly draining from her flesh as her remains lose more and more of the last of her warmth. Eren almost lets out a bitter, choked sob of a laugh as he realizes that he took better care of a flower petal than he did the person who gave it to him. After all, at least the flower petal was still in one piece, although Eren was the one to bring the petal’s life to an end too.

With as much gentleness that Eren can muster while inside of the Attack Titan, he slowly takes her from his palm, careful not to mangle her body any more than it already is, and lays her down unceremoniously on top of the pile of rubble that she was pulled out of. It isn’t the final resting place that Eren would have chosen for you, if such a thing were even possible, but it was the best that he could do in the moment in order to go through the motions of honoring your memory; in reality though, he was a disgrace to it.

Before long, the Armored Titan emerges from its tomb and begins to engage Eren, stealing his attention away from his fallen friend and bringing his focus back to his surroundings at long last. He so wishes things had turned out differently, he had never meant to drag your into any of his mess. He fondly remembers himself futally attempting to keep his distance from everyone at the hospital, especially her, but the effort was in vain. For better or for worse, she found a way to weasel herself into his life, and he even found himself thinking of you as a good friend not long after. Eren could see that he was broken and wilted, so why couldn’t she? And if she did, why didn’t she care? Why always pick the dull and wilted? 

_ However, he knows better than to question you or your flower picking process. He probably wouldn’t understand it even if you explained it. _

_ Eren only wishes you learned to pick better flowers.  _


	2. bonus fluff to heal your soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a cute little oneshot where Eren helps you out of a jam and helps you to be a little more confident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This oneshot takes place while they're all still 104th cadets :)  
> I hope this helps you feel better if the previous chapter got you in your feelings, haha.
> 
> Word Count: 2837

“-Ow! Eren, be more careful! That hurt like a bitch!”

“Shut the hell up, I’m trying to concentrate!” 

“-OW! Pull my hair one more time, see what happens!”

“Do you want my help on not, you damn brat?”

You cross your arms in a huff, choosing to bite your tongue and remain silent so that Eren continues to help you. You really do need his help, but he could still be nicer about it! That being said, you understand that he’s only trying to help and that he can’t really control how much he tugs at your hair in his attempts to assist you. You continue to grip the grass that you’re sitting on with both of your hands in an attempt to fight through the pain, occasionally pulling some out of the dirt with a quick yank. Today has quickly become an absolute nightmare for you.

For the past twenty minutes or so, Eren has been helping you untangle your hair from your ODM gear without much luck. By the way it sounds (and feels), it’s tangled up pretty good, much to your disdain. You’re not even completely sure how it happened. One minute, you’re in training learning the basics about the gear and practicing basic maneuvers, and the next your hair is being painfully yanked by the reel mechanism of your gear. Fuck the reel mechanism.

Of course, the moment instructor Shadis saw you and your predicament, you were mercilessly scolded and told to get yourself unstuck or else  _ “I’ll cut off your hair and shove it down your throat where it can’t get tangled!” _

Eren found you sometime later at the barracks, choking back frustrated tears as you tried your best to free yourself from your ODM gear. Much to your surprise, he instantly started trying to help you out, sitting down in the grass behind you as he fiddled with your hair. (You made sure that he wasn’t just going to cut you loose with scissors before you let him help you)

Of course, he wasn’t going to do so without giving you a piece of his mind in classic Eren fashion.

“I told you the first week we arrived that you should get a haircut before training started, and now look at you! Why don’t you just chop it off already?”

You try and adamantly shake your head, but stop yourself before you yank your hair out of Eren’s hands. 

“Because! I just can’t, okay?”

Once again, Eren is starting to get on your nerves. How many people are gonna tell you to chop off all your hair today? You can’t quite bring yourself to give him the actual reason why you can’t cut your hair. The reason is kind of embarrassing, but you can’t help the way you feel about it. 

All of your sisters and even your mother all have long, flowing, gorgeous hair, and you think it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. You’ve always wanted to be just like them. Over the years you’ve convinced yourself that if you cut your hair, you’ll never be beautiful like them. Other girls can look beautiful with short hair, just not you.

Your harsh grip on the grass softens a bit as you think of your family that you left behind, smiling a little bit at the thought before Eren gives your hair another yank. You hope that he’s made progress, but you learned to stop asking about it after the first ten minutes. 

“Mikasa cut her hair before training started and she hasn’t had any trouble with it at all.”

You have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes at the mention of Eren’s sister, arguably the prettiest girl in the whole group. It isn’t fair to compare the two of you! She could do anything with her hair and still have Jean and many others chasing after her. 

“Oh come on, that’s no fair! Mikasa would look good with any haircut, I guarantee it.”

“And you wouldn’t?”

“ _ No! _ ”

Eren’s hands pause and the tugging stops for a couple of moments. You can feel the embarrassment on your cheeks, realizing that you said a bit more than you had originally wanted to. Eren doesn’t need to know about all your stupid insecurities, especially when they seem so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Here you all are, training for a life full of danger and intensity, and yet you can’t stop fussing over your  _ hair, _ of all things. You can’t help the way you feel about it though, no matter how much you might want to. You fiddle with your hands nervously as you wait for the silence to be broken.

“Is that what all this is about?”

Eren’s tone was softer than you had expected, his past frustration with you seemingly melting away as he starts to understand the strange situation. A moment of silence goes by, the quietest the two of you have been in a long time, before you hum a small ‘yes’, being careful not to nod your head and make the tangles worse. The air is heavy for a few painful moments more before Eren pipes up again with his usual passion. 

“Who the hell told you that?! Short hair would look great on you! Anyone who says otherwise is a damn idiot!”

...That is not what you were expecting to hear. Your mouth opens in an attempt to form a reply, but no words come out, not quite sure what to say. The heat in your cheeks intensifies a little bit as his words echo in your mind. Does he really mean that? Is he just trying to be nice? No, he sounded genuine, in a way that only Eren can. You notice his hands resume work on your tangled hair, and before you’re able think of a reply to his oddly kind hearted words, you can feel a weight suddenly being lifted from your hair.

“Got it!”

Your face lights up as you realize that Eren finally freed you from your ODM gear, feeling the happiness and gratitude well up in your stomach, as well as a bit of guilt for letting your frustrations get the better of you and yelling at him earlier.

You spin around to face him, hoping that the redness has faded from your features as you meet his eyes. He gently places your ODM gear on the grass beside himself, a bright, satisfied smile gleaming on his face; the smile reminds you of the one he wore on the day that he figured out how to balance while using his own ODM gear after days of persistently trying. You don’t think you’ve ever seen anyone work as hard to achieve their dreams as Eren does, and you admire that about him; he’s as stubborn and persistent as they come.

“Thank you so much, Eren! I don’t think I would have been able to do that by myself. I owe you one!”

“You can pay me back by cutting your hair so that never happens again. What if something like that happens in battle?”

Your expression sours a bit as your eyes drift towards the ground in deep thought. You know that Eren is right. Something like this could cause some real problems down the road, and maybe even a fatal one. There isn’t any room for error when it comes to fighting titans. Even still, the idea of cutting your hair still makes your gut twist. You can feel Eren’s eyes watching you as you figure out what your next words will be, fingers unconsciously fiddling with each other.

“You really meant what you said?”

“Absolutely.”

The tone of his voice is back to that softness that seems so uncharacteristic for him, one that you almost don’t recognize as his. It’s nice. 

You lift your eyes to meet Eren’s once again, nodding your head with a shaky smile on your lips. You’re not so sure about whether or not cutting your hair is a good idea, but at the very least you know that Eren won’t make fun of you if it actually does turn out to be a horrible decision. (You can also be sure that Eren will attempt to fight anyone who  _ does  _ make fun of you for it)

“Okay. I guess I’ll do it. I’ll never make you untangle my hair again, you have my word.”

His grin only grows at your words, glad to have helped you in more ways than one today. Not a bad day’s work, and it’s not even noon! 

You grab your ODM gear off of the grass, brushing it off as you start making your way back to the training grounds when Eren stops you by grabbing your wrist, practically pulling you back in a huff. You come to a full stop, having to balance yourself as you send a questioning look towards Eren, your wrist still in his grasp. His hold on you is firm, but it doesn’t cause any sort of discomfort.

“Oh hell no! Don’t you dare go back to training without at least pulling your hair back! You’re gonna get it tangled again, dumbass!”

There’s the Eren that you’re used to. Normally you’d fire back some sort of response back to him, but he makes a good point. You are not about to put yourself through all that for a second time, not if you can help it. 

You start to dig through your pockets in an attempt to find a hair tie when you notice something curious; Eren is doing the same thing. With his hand shoved deep into his own pocket, he manages to beat you to the punch and successfully pulls out a small, black hair tie.

You admittedly find yourself to be somewhat surprised that not only does Eren carry around a hair tie, he’s walked towards you and has once again taken your hair into his hands. Though, this time his touch is soft, much gentler than it was before when he was pulling and tugging. 

As if he can sense your bewilderment, Eren pipes up yet again.

“I usually carry one around for Mikasa. Even if I didn’t want to, I always somehow end up with one in my pockets. I don’t mind though. They come in handy for things that aren’t hair too. Sometimes I fire them at Jean and blame it on Ymir.”

The thought of Eren menacing Jean with hair accessories makes your snort and you can practically hear the smile on Eren’s face. The combination of his fingers gliding through your hair and his gentle words is oddly comforting, sending a calming sensation down your spine. Now you understand when people say that they enjoy having their hair played with. Every once in a while, his fingers will brush against your scalp, giving you goosebumps and almost making you shiver every time it happens. Your eyelids droop a little bit as you find yourself enjoying the feeling. You could get used to this... Who knew you would like Eren touching your hair again after the ordeal you went through only minutes ago? Eren’s voice suddenly breaks you out of the little trance you now find yourself in. 

“I also learned to braid because of Mikasa. I liked being able to help her out in that way when we were younger, back when her hair was longer. I’ve even braided Armin’s hair a few times, but it’s harder on shorter hair and I’m not really good at it.”

You finally put it together that he isn’t just pulling your hair back, he’s braiding it too. No wonder why he’s touching your hair so much, not that you mind. You should ask the girls in the barracks to braid your hair more often if it feels this nice. You particularly appreciate Eren taking the time to braid your hair because you were never very good at braiding your hair yourself. You can braid other people’s hair, but there’s something about doing it to yourself that makes it so much more difficult. 

After a moment, a thought occurs to you: if you cut your hair, Eren won’t be able to braid your hair anymore. For whatever reason, the thought makes you kind of sad. Sad enough to reconsider cutting your hair? Maybe.

A couple moments later, Eren ties the hair tie around the end of your new braid and finishes his handiwork. You honestly wish that it had lasted a little longer, but you can’t really complain. Turning back around to face him, you flash him a thankful smile as you pull the braid to your shoulder, running your hands over it slightly. It feels like he did a pretty good job! Eren is just full of surprises today.

“Thanks again, Eren. If Shadis chews you out for taking too long, I’ll take the blame.”

“Don’t mention it. Oh, and after dinner I can help you cut your hair.”

“You’re really gonna make sure I cut my hair today, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”   


**_A while later…_ **   


Your hands shake ever so slightly as you stare ahead towards the setting sun. Dinner time in the barracks came and went, and now the time had finally come; it’s time to say goodbye to your hair. 

Eren stands behind you, a dull pair of scissors clutched in his hand as he waits for you to give him the go-ahead, a signal which he’s been waiting for for quite some time now. It seems you’ve gotten into your own head and are second guessing your decision a bit. Your fingers nervously play with each other, feeling Eren’s eyes bore into the back of your head, scissors at the ready. Though you’re embarrassed to admit it, this is probably the most vulnerable you’ve ever felt in your life. Whether that’s due to your insecurities or the fact that Eren of all people is standing in your blind spot with a sharp object is anyone’s guess.

Finally getting fed up of the nerve wracking anticipation, you decide to just bite the bullet and make the call. Might as well get it over with, right?

_ It’s only hair, it’ll grow back… It’s only hair, it’ll grow back… It’s only hair, it’ll grow back… _   


“-Fuck it! Do it, Eren.”

“Are you sure?

“Yes! Hurry, before I change my mind!”

With that, Eren begins cutting at your hair with the scissors. Your long, beautiful hair that’s taken you years to grow begins falling to the grass in sad, dejected chunks. The sound of the dull scissors slicing at your hair turns your stomach, but it’s too late to turn back now. This is a decision that you’ll have to own, whether it be a good one or a bad one. You cover your face with your hands, trying your best to stand still so that Eren doesn’t make a mistake. Your head feels lighter and lighter with every snip and after an excruciating minute or so, Eren finishes.

He takes a step back, admiring his work as you turn around, your eyes glued to the ground. You can’t help but stare at the pile of what used to be attached to your body, already getting blown away by the gentle breeze. You bring your eyes up to meet with Eren’s. There are two very different expressions on your faces. Eren seems pleased with himself, but is also proud of you for following through with your promise despite how much you didn’t want to. The look on your face, however, is quite grim.

“How does it look? If it looks terrible, you can tell me. I can take it.”

“What is with you?! I told you it would look great, and it does. You’re just as beautiful as you were before. Maybe even more… See for yourself.”

Eren shakes his head at you as he hands you a small mirror which you nervously accept. You’re almost scared to look at your own reflection, but after a moment, you gather up enough courage to see what Eren did for you (or  _ to  _ you, depending on how it turns out).

**…**

It looks  _ cute.  _ Pretty, even… You were not expecting that… Was Eren right the whole time?

“...I like it… I  _ like _ it!”

You lower the mirror, once again looking at Eren and the satisfied look on his face that now pales in comparison to the look of relief on yours. You blink away a few stray tears, hopefully before he notices, as you brush your hands through your new hair, which is now quite a bit fluffier than it was when it was long. You never realized that your hair was this wavy!

“Thank you Eren, really. For everything. You didn’t have to help me with any of this today, but you did. I can’t thank you enough.”

“It was no problem. Now you better master your ODM gear with your new and improved hair, or I’ll chop even more of it off!”

“Don’t even joke about that!”


End file.
